HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031171.txt

The Justice Department is investigating federal prosecutors for their handling of a plea deal in which Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier with political connections, avoided severe penalties for sexually abusing teenage girls in favor of a relatively light state conviction in Florida. The investigation was announced after US Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, called for an examination of whether professional misconduct occurred in the highly publicized case. Epstein is now 66 and lives on Little St. James Island off St. Thomas. He reached a non-prosecution deal with then-Miami US Attorney Alexander Acosta's office in 2008 to secretly end a federal sex abuse investigation that could have landed him behind bars for life.